UCLA got it half right Saturday night against Fresno State in halting its meandering ways after halftime and extending its winning streak to a season-high four games with a 91-78 victory at Pauley Pavilion in its second-to-last nonconference game.

Since nothing has been easy for the Bruins in the opening months of the season, maybe it was too much to expect a wire-to-wire victory over the struggling Bulldogs, losers of four in a row. It just took a little longer than anyone might have expected for UCLA to pull away.

In the end, the Bruins’ best players were their best players.

Freshmen Shabazz Muhammad, Jordan Adams and Kyle Anderson and senior Larry Drew II propelled UCLA (9-3) to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the second half after the Bruins rallied from a nine-point deficit to lead 39-36 at halftime.

Muhammad scored 20 of his career-high 27 in the second half. Adams scored 15 of his 25 points in the first half. Anderson added 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. It was the first time in school history three freshmen scored 20 points or more in the same game.

“I wasn’t really aware of that,” Muhammad said when asked if he realized he had scored 20 points in the second half after making eight of 12 shots. “Multiple guys scored in double digits.

“Our guys were really unselfish (and) it’s taking us a long way.”

Drew scored only four points but had a team-leading 10 assists and only one turnover.

“Larry did a phenomenal job,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said of Drew, who had 14 points and added nine assists with just one turnover in Tuesday’s victory over Long Beach State. “Our assists to turnover ratio is the best it’s been since I’ve been here.”

UCLA had 24 assists and 10 turnovers Saturday.

After victories over Fresno State, Long Beach State, Prairie View and Texas, the Bruins will try for their fifth consecutive win Friday against No.12 Missouri in their last nonconference game before beginning Pac-12 play Jan. 3 against California at Pauley Pavilion.

Marvelle Harris scored a career-high 19 points in a reserve role and Tyler Johnson had 16 for Fresno State (5-7). The Bulldogs led by as many as nine points in the first half before the Bruins closed with a 10-2 run to rally for a 39-36 lead at halftime.

“Fresno State was very patient,” Howland said. “They don’t get anything in transition. They run their sets. Those types of teams are tough for us to play against.

“Our guys have to learn. Teams that want to get up and down the court are easier for us to play.”

UCLA began the second half by looking nothing like the sluggish team that started the game by scoring only four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the first 4:03. The Bruins turned a three-point lead into a 16-point edge after Muhammad’s layup made it 70-54.

Fresno State opened the game by missing its first four shots and committing four turnovers before Kevin Foster’s tip-in after almost 3<MD+,%30,%55,%70>1/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>2 minutes. UCLA led only 4-2 by the time the first television timeout was called with 15:57 left, however.

Once it got over a serious case of the jitters, Fresno State raced past UCLA and built a lead that swelled to as many as nine points when Kevin Olekaibe swished a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 25-16 edge with a little more than seven minutes left in the first half.

“I didn’t realize it was nine points,” Howland said. “It’s good our guys are gaining experience. We’re at the one-third point of the regular season, and I like where we are.

“This is one of the best teams I’ve had here in terms of taking care of the basketball.”

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.